Bogner Helios

[WizardSouth-JP]

huh

 

[supersonic]

If the Helios is so fantastic why did Bogner wait so long to release it?

Bogner has released many fantastic amps, so your point is?

My point is obvious, think about it!

 

[spirit7]

Question: Is the XTC 20th as compressed sounding as the standard-fare 101B?

No. It's a sweet combo of saturation and openness IMHO.

But is it a game changer?

It's a "game changer" amongst the "gamer changers". It's mega

Yup.

 

[ttosh]

If the Helios is so fantastic why did Bogner wait so long to release it?

Bogner has released many fantastic amps, so your point is?

My point is obvious, think about it!

Okay, thought about it, your point is you want to be a jerk....

 

[supersonic]

If the Helios is so fantastic why did Bogner wait so long to release it?

Bogner has released many fantastic amps, so your point is?

My point is obvious, think about it!

Okay, thought about it, your point is you want to be a jerk....

Oh internet tough guy eh! I'm a Bogner fanboi, have owned my XTC for about nine years. Move along now if you don't get my point.

 

[ttosh]

If the Helios is so fantastic why did Bogner wait so long to release it?

Bogner has released many fantastic amps, so your point is?

My point is obvious, think about it!

Okay, thought about it, your point is you want to be a jerk....

Oh internet tough guy eh! I'm a Bogner fanboi, have owned my XTC for about nine years. Move along now if you don't get my point.

My apologies, not a tough guy at all, I just pointed out how your initial post came across.

 

[Ventura]

Back to the amp...

I'm kinda reflecting on the posts and so forth about this amp and "why another" blah blah blah...

Kinda hit me What amp does Bogner have that offers this vibe already?

I don't think there is one. The 4 heavy hitters are XTC, Shiva, Uberschall and TwinJet. Behind those 4 is the Goldfinger and Duende. So where is the amp that offers that off-the-cuff massive headroom abrupt open punch-you-in-the-nuts thump that the Helios is -apparently- delivering? I dunno. I think I see where the niche within his product line is for such a new arrival personally.

Flame suite on.

 

[ttosh]

Back to the amp...

I'm kinda reflecting on the posts and so forth about this amp and "why another" blah blah blah...

Kinda hit me What amp does Bogner have that offers this vibe already?

I don't think there is one. The 4 heavy hitters are XTC, Shiva, Uberschall and TwinJet. Behind those 4 is the Goldfinger and Duende. So where is the amp that offers that off-the-cuff massive headroom abrupt open punch-you-in-the-nuts thump that the Helios is -apparently- delivering? I dunno. I think I see where the niche within his product line is for such a new arrival personally.

Flame suite on.

This is how I have seen this amp from the beginning of the announcement. I realize some will argue the 20th XTC is close, but as much as I love the 20th XTC I feel this is a step towards more open, and percussive overall from the XTC. I think this fits into the Bogner arsenal well personally.

No flame suit on.......

 

[Ventura]

Back to the amp...

I'm kinda reflecting on the posts and so forth about this amp and "why another" blah blah blah...

Kinda hit me What amp does Bogner have that offers this vibe already?

I don't think there is one. The 4 heavy hitters are XTC, Shiva, Uberschall and TwinJet. Behind those 4 is the Goldfinger and Duende. So where is the amp that offers that off-the-cuff massive headroom abrupt open punch-you-in-the-nuts thump that the Helios is -apparently- delivering? I dunno. I think I see where the niche within his product line is for such a new arrival personally.

Flame suite on.

This is how I have seen this amp from the beginning of the announcement. I realize some will argue the 20th XTC is close, but as much as I love the 20th XTC I feel this is a step towards more open, and percussive overall from the XTC. I think this fits into the Bogner arsenal well personally.

No flame suit on.......

XTC to me has a bit of sag and sponge notoriously weaved into its tone - something people have come to love about them.

This Helios seems to be like concrete. No sponginess, no sag, just immediacy and hammer-to-the-anvil clarity.

 

[LP Freak]

If the Helios is so fantastic why did Bogner wait so long to release it?

"I'll sell no amp before it's time"

 

[abrackas]

My SLOr sits in the corner as I've gone back to my Mark II C+.
Great at all volumes and responds to volume roll back extremely well.

 

[ericsabbath]

I don't see why anyone should expect something new soundwise
the amp is supposedly based on the mods Reinhold did back in the day
some of his main products, like the fish, ecstasy and shiva originated from those same mods
what is "new" about it is that it's simple handwired amp with fewer features, which may actually be a plus to some people (like myself)
I doubt the circuit is MUCH the different than the blue channel of the ecstasy or the strat channel of the fish (which are basically jose-like circuits)
my guess: 3 stages + cathode follower on hot input, plex input skips first stage making it a basic plexi; voicing switch probably uses different coupling caps to control the amount of bass
nothing different from Reinhold already has done on the Ecstasy circuit, technically speaking, and that's exactly what should be expected, not some ground breaking new tonal range
the only new thing I see about it is the eq bypass switch
now THAT should make a considerable difference on how the amp sounds

 

[Shiny_Surface]

One thing you can count on is a Revision update at some point, and then the arguing over which one(s) is/are better.

 

[rlord1974]

The next revision sounds so much better than the first one. That's the word on the street.

 

[philb]

The amp sounds really good. Very woody type of tone.

 

[thegame]

In the 20th Ecstacy/101B debate, its stated right on the Bogner website that in addition to circuit tweaks, they changed brands of capacitors to make an intentional audible difference. Considering the PTP nature of the Helios, that'd be even easier to accomplish. So, different brands of parts, especially a redesigned transformer set (if that is the case), would result in quite a different sounding amp featuring a similar circuits.

 

[Schaf]

If the Helios is so fantastic why did Bogner wait so long to release it?

Bogner has released many fantastic amps, so your point is?

My point is obvious, think about it!

Okay, thought about it, your point is you want to be a jerk....

Oh internet tough guy eh! I'm a Bogner fanboi, have owned my XTC for about nine years. Move along now if you don't get my point.

My apologies, not a tough guy at all, I just pointed out how your initial post came across.

Yeah man, I thought about it too, and I don't get it either. lol.

I agree with Ventura and TTosh. I think it's a nice addition to their product line. Plus the price isn't that bad considering what it is. Maybe I'm not hearing it right but I don't see much overlap in products?

Although, I will say gibson5413 posted some clips of the xtc 20th in another thread that were just killer. But they sounded nothing like this amp. The helios sounds way more in your face.

 

[ericsabbath]

In the 20th Ecstacy/101B debate, its stated right on the Bogner website that in addition to circuit tweaks, they changed brands of capacitors to make an intentional audible difference. Considering the PTP nature of the Helios, that'd be even easier to accomplish. So, different brands of parts, especially a redesigned transformer set (if that is the case), would result in quite a different sounding amp featuring a similar circuits.

this
it's not like they're redesigning the whole concept of the brands tone
it's just a different build with a moderate tone change mostly coming from the different parts
like the difference from a Custom Audio OD100 to a handwired Suhr OD100

 

[ericsabbath]

The next revision sounds so much better than the first one. That's the word on the street.

and then after the third revision, the original one will be the absolute best of all and the only one worth buying

 

[Ventura]

Anyone know if the 50W version has a 1/2 power switch as well?

I suppose it's how they're doing their power cut; if it's pulling a pair of tubes, doubtful that'd be the case on the 50W version. If it's pentode/triode switching, probably doable.

Anyone care to chime in?